Petrino Gives First Interview Since Firing

August 9th, 2012| by Lost Lettermen

Disgraced former Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino gave his first interview, with ESPN’s Joe Schad, following his firing in April. A brief clip was released Thursday morning, with the full interview to be shown on the Thursday evening broadcast of “SportsCenter.”

When asked about his hiring of former Razorbacks volleyball player Jessica Dorrell — with whom he was having an affair — Petrino said, “There’s no justification, no excuse for having her in the interview pool, hiring her and having her back on the motorcycle. All I know is that I wasn’t thinking or acting correctly.”

Petrino said the hardest part of it all was coming clean to his wife, Becky, “explaining how I could possibly do this to hurt her.” He choked up at the end of clip when describing to Schad how he was trying to make amends with her and their children.

“I have a better understanding of what life is really about,” he said. “Keep your priorities straight, put your energy into the people that love you and count on you. I’m working hard to save my marriage, one day at a time.”